The present disclosure relates to an improved apparatus for producing a chilled or partially frozen beverage often referred to as a slush beverage. A variety of apparatus have been designed to produce chilled beverages as well as to produce beverages which are in slush form. Some of these apparatus are referred to as “granita” machines. Such apparatus can be used to produce slush beverages for a number of products including fruit juices, coffee-based beverages, tea-based beverages, dairy based beverages, as well as beverages containing alcohol. The apparatus include a chilling structure and some form of blade or auger which moves relative to the chilling portion to shave the frozen product off and circulate the beverage along the chilling portion. Circulation of the frozen beverage within the beverage hopper and along the chilling portion helps to reduce the temperature of the beverage mixture thereby causing the partially frozen beverage to approach a slush consistency.
Some prior frozen beverage apparatus have dispenser assemblies which included a large number of moving parts and an arrangement within assembly made more costly to assemble, and more time consuming to disassemble, clean, and reassemble for the end user or service personnel than was desirable. Improved ease of assembly and reassembly are desirable characteristics because many manufacturers recommend disassembly and cleaning of the dispenser at regular intervals.
Use of some prior dispensing apparatus can cause splattering of product during dispensing. Splattering most often occurs upon the initial operation or pull of the dispensing apparatus if the product flows too rapidly out of the dispenser or if gas that is trapped within the product escapes to the atmosphere. Splatter is undesirable because it may require cleaning surfaces of the machine. Further, the prior dispensers may operate in a manner which could cause some difficulty for an operator to gradually close the dispenser and could cause cup overflow and product waste.
In some situations, the chilled beverage product can form an “ice plug” at the terminal end of the dispenser nozzle channel from which the product is dispensed. Such “ice plugs” tend to thaw due to the slightly elevated temperature of the dispenser relative to the chilled beverage hopper. The formation of such a plug is undesirable since it can fall under its own weight at unexpected times causing it to splash within a drip tray which can require additional clearing by the operator.
Disclosed is an apparatus and method of dispensing a partially frozen beverage. The apparatus includes at least one beverage hopper for retaining a quantity of partially frozen beverage. The beverage hopper has a dispensing aperture formed therein and a guide member in an exterior surface of the beverage hopper. A chilling unit cools the partially frozen beverage retained within the beverage hopper. A dispenser assembly is provided which includes a handle, a biasing element, a gasket and a slideable valve member. the valve member has a portion dimensioned to slideably engage the guide member of the beverage hopper.